Saturday, October 07, 2006
goodbye ho chi minh city
i'm back.
it feels good to be home yet i don't really wanna be here.
i'm having the missing feeling and it really sucks.
monday
went to the airport to meet the class and take the flight to vietnam.
maybe after taking so many flights on SQ, all the other airlines seem to a far cry from them.
upon arrival, we took a short city tour on the bus to familarize ourselves with the surroundings of the city.
went for our first vietnamese dinner then to check in at the hotel.
tutorials followed.
crashed at rach's and bel's room before bed.
tuesday
rise and shine early in the morning.
headed for the vietnam national university.
we interacted with one another, it was a cutural and knowledge exchange session.
next was the war musuem.
i knew that the vietnam war was gruesome but i didnt realise that many innocent lives were lost. it was a real big eye opener.
cyclo tour around the city.
shopped at ben thanh market, i hate bargaining. plus, we were harassed by the people there. they were strong, they literally pulled you over to look at the stuff.
dinner.
tutorials.
crashed at their place again. before you say that i left my roommate alone, she was out with others. drinking and having fun. haha.
wednesday
long drive to the mekong delta where we boarded a boat to the small town of my tho.
the boat ride was kinda cool.
stopped at the various small islands and ate fruit, saw how coconut candy was made, drank honey tea and banana wine.
after lunch we took the boat back to the bus and headed back to the city where we went to another history musuem and caught the water puppet show.
then it was back the the hotel to get ready for the business forum.
i felt that the forum really made me think about how we as singaporeans would benefit or lose out when vietnam rises up to a thriving economy.-thinks hard-
tutorials.
headed out for supper at a coffee shop opposite.drank, ate and talked alot about the whole trip.
thursday
visited a few places,
vietnam singapore industrial park(vsip)
dutch lady factory
garment factory
i have to say that the lunch was the best throughout the entire trip.
headed to the orphanage.
i felt like i was back in thailand when i saw how underprivileged the kids there were as compared to kids here.
however, they were happy with the little that they had and led very happy lives.
didnt have mood for dinner, alot of us didnt.
tutorials again.
friday
cu chi tunnel was a 2 hour drive away.
i told rachel that we had to try to keep awake.
we entertained ourselves by hitting each other and telling lame jokes.
we were damn high. all of a sudden, i felt tired. before rachel could say anything else, i fell asleep and she was left alone to entertain herself. i think she slept too.
reached the tunnel, learnt about the guerellas and how a network of 200 km long underground dug-out was used in the war.
next was the caodaism temple.
it was a mixture of several rligions into one.
i have to say that today was the worse lunch throughout the trip.
bought dvds at saigon tax trade centre cause there was nothing else to buy.
dinner at the river cruise. it was enjoyable. we carried lanterns too. lol.
the last night was supposed to be the best but i guess some stuff's unpredictable and it had to happen, kinda ruined alot of plans. oh wells.
saturday
headed to the airport. walked around duty free.
had my last cup of vietnamese iced coffee and pho noodles.
flight was delayed by 30 minutes.
the take off and landing was horrible.
i think the whole plane heard rachel scream. how funny.
the experience was really enriching. we managed to step out of our comfort zone, and opened our eyes to bigger things.
it also taught me how to look after people. and to be more patient with others around me.
looking forward to the presentation day.
pics up soon.
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